Valve is already working on a new HTC Vive controller

The Steam team teases new toys for the VR headset

Just as Oculus brought us more information on its Touch controllers last week, Valve may shake up the virtual reality landscape with new hardware soon.

The game developer/digital retailer/VR innovator showed developers prototypes of new additions to the HTC Vive headset - including a new controller, according to TechCrunch.

Though currently just a proof of concept, the peripheral appears smaller than the current Vive controller and reportedly straps to the player’s palm, allowing them to grip or let go of the device without dropping it.

The prototypes debuted at Valve’s Steam Dev Days conference, where the company presented a range of keynotes on topics such as best business practices to technical integration with the Steam service.

As the Dev Days conference progresses into Thursday, we hope to see more about Valve’s controller prototype as developers get their own hands on it.

Open the Valves

Valve’s dip into hardware has been gradual but steady, with the company’s own SteamVR tech powering the HTC-made Vive headset.

The company also teased an upcoming 2017 model of its Lighthouse bases during today's gathering. The light-emitting nodes allow the Vive to do full-scale room tracking, with Valve working to make its technology the standard in the field of VR.

Earlier this year, the bizarre-but-bold Steam Controller also released, alongside a drip-feed of Steam Machines - licensed third-party PCs built expressly for playing Steam like a game console.

Now, if only Valve could get Half-Life 3 out as quickly as all this other stuff, right?